


A Home for the Holidays

by kirani



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Apologies, Christmas, Derek "Nursey" Nurse is Unchill, Dex's Dad isn't Great, Dex's Mom is Trying, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Gift Giving, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Nursey's Parents are Chill, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 17:32:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17187323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirani/pseuds/kirani
Summary: After Dex comes out to his parents over Thanksgiving break, he decides it's better to stay at the Haus for Christmas. Little does he know, Nursey is also staying. Apologies are finally made, hugs are given, and feelings are talked about.





	A Home for the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

  * For [foryouandbits](https://archiveofourown.org/users/foryouandbits/gifts).



> Happy holidays, giftee! I hope you like it! I jumped off your desire for mutual respect growing into love through the magic of Christmas. I hope I did it justice!  
> Shout out to my amazing beta, AK!

Will was sick and tired of it.

He was tired of hiding from his family. He was tired of his team ignoring it. And he was tired of Nursey.

Since he couldn’t seem to have a conversation with Nursey without one or both of them yelling, he decided to start with his family.

Thanksgiving was a traditional time to come out, right?

It didn’t go so well.

He ended up back in the Haus basement the next day with his dad’s words still ringing in his ears.

His mother had called him on the drive back to Samwell, full of assurances that she would talk to him. His brother and sisters had texted him assurances that nothing had changed.

But his dad’s words haunted him.

So when he finally finished his finals and everyone began packing for the holiday break, Will just cozied up his Basement Bungalow for the holiday alone.

Once the Haus was empty, he wandered up to the kitchen to make some dinner. He turned on some Christmas music and hummed as he pulled things down from the cabinets.

“Dex?”

Will spun, suddenly blindingly aware of the fact that he was in only his boxers.

“I thought everyone left,” he said dumbly, knowing his blush was spreading down his chest as Nursey cocked an eyebrow.

“Change of plans,” Nursey shrugged finally, crossing to the refrigerator to rummage for his own food. “Mom got a lead on a new client and jetted off to Europe somewhere. We’re doing Christmas next week instead. Figured I’d get more done here than at home."

“And your dad?” Will crossed his arms over his bare chest and leaned against the counter quasi-casually.

“He’s in Puerto Rico with his parents. We got him for Thanksgiving this year, not Christmas.”

“Oh.”

Nursey shrugged again.

“When are you going home?” He asked as he dove into the fridge.

“I’m not.”

Nursey stood quickly, banging his head on the shelf.

“What? Why not?”

“I came out to my family at Thanksgiving. My dad didn’t take it so well.”

Nursey’s eyes got wide for a moment before he schooled his face into something serious.

“Thank you for trusting me with this moment.”

“Oh shut up, Nurse.”

“I know it’s a corny line, but I support you, bro!”

Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but I’ve come out to you at least three times. You’ve met one of my ex-boyfriends!”

“I-- You-- What?”

“Christ,” Will mumbled. “Do you just never listen when I talk? Does no one on this team give a shit about me? How many times do I have to come out before it sticks?”

“Hey,” Nursey said quietly, and Will realized he’d been shouting. “I’m sorry I didn’t remember. Who was the boyfriend?”

“Nathan,” Will said.

“Oh, I remember him. You can do better.”

Will snorted. “Glad to hear it, because he dumped my ass.”

“I’m sorry,” Nursey said, and he sounded it.

“Not your fault,” Will shrugged, turning back to the stove and his dinner.

There was silence for a few minutes, only the sounds of vegetables frying, before Nursey spoke again.

“You’re really not going home at all?”

Will shook his head.

“He needs time to cool off. I’m not gonna ruin everyone’s Christmas by showing up and starting another fight.”

“What about your Christmas?” Nursey asked. It was so soft, Will had to turn around. Nursey looked… sad.

He shrugged again. “I’ll manage.”

“Well, you can come to mine,” Nursey declared.

Will snorted.

“That’s alright, Nurse. I’ll be fine.”

“If you change your mind, let me know. And we’ll have our own little Haus Christmas in the meantime.”

“Sure,” Will agreed, if only to get Nursey to shut up.

Nurse smiled, though, big and bright, and Will found himself returning it.

It turned out Nursey’s idea of a Haus Christmas consisted of a lot of decorations. Dex had to intercept him climbing an unsecured ladder to hang lights on the front porch of the Haus, then found him lugging a tree taller than himself halfway across campus.

“Dude, I have a _car_ , why didn’t you just ask?”

“I didn’t think it would be this heavy!”

Will rolled his eyes but helped him lug the tree back to their home.

Once the Haus was lit up, Nursey dropped a gift under the tree.

Will watched him leave it, with copious amounts of fake chill, and saunter off before he dove for it.

_To: Dex_

_From: the best d-partner in the world_

Will rolled his eyes. Now he had to get Nursey something, too.

He headed down to the basement to paw through his various scraps of projects and see if he could make him something.

Christmas morning dawned clear and bright. Snow had fallen a couple of days before and without the majority of the student body to trample it down it still looked relatively pristine.

Will trudged upstairs to find Nursey already at the stove and the smell of cooking sausages permeating the first floor.

“You’re cooking?”

“Merry Christmas, Dexy!” Nursey turned and exclaimed. “Sausages are almost done, eggs are in the oven keeping warm. Feel free to make some toast, this’ll be ready in just a moment.”

“You can cook?”

Nursey laughed, a short bark. “And _I’m_ the one who doesn’t listen.”

Will stared at his back a moment longer and then went to put some bread in the toaster. Stranger things had happened, he supposed, than Derek Nurse knowing how to cook.

He watched as Nursey hummed and turned the sausages one last time before removing them from the heat. He grabbed one of the plates from the counter and loaded half the sausages onto it, then pulled the eggs from the oven and repeated the action.

The toaster popped, breaking Will out of his reverie.

Nursey handed him one of the plates and he added his toast to it before bringing it to the table.

At the table, they ate in silence until Will’s phone rang.

“Mom?” he answered.

“Hi, baby,” she said over the phone. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, mom.”

Nursey got up and took his plate to the front room.

“We all miss you.”

“I’ll see you soon,” he assured her. Or himself. He wasn’t sure.

“Your dad says he’s sorry for how he acted. You just caught him off guard.”

“If he has to be on guard to talk to me, I don’t want to talk to him.”

His mom sighed heavily on the other side.

“I just wish you’d talk to him. It’s Christmas.”

“I know, Mom. I will. Just… not today, okay?”

“Okay,” she said after a pause. “I love you, baby. We all love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

“Merry Christmas, William.”

“Merry Christmas, Mom.”

He hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment before he heard Nursey in the doorway.

“You alright?”

Will shrugged.

“Do you want a hug?”

Will looked at him. He wasn’t chirping.

“Yeah,” Will said, his voice cracking slightly. Would today’s embarrassments never end?

He stood and let Nursey wrap him in his arms. He dropped his head to Nursey’s shoulder and clung to his waist, arms tight around his d-partner.

He would not cry.

He wouldn’t.

“It’s alright to be upset, Dex. Your feelings are valid.”

“Thanks,” Will mumbled into his shirt collar.

“You’re welcome.”

They stood like that for a long moment before Will stepped back.

“Sorry, I got you all snotty on Christmas.”

“I’ve had worse Christmases,” Nursey shrugged. “Do you want to open the gift I got you? It’s okay if you didn’t get me anything, I promise, I just thought you could use a little holiday cheer, okay?”

“I did,” Will said. “Get you something. Well, I made you something. It’s downstairs.”

He strode off for the basement and Nursey followed him slowly.

When they got to his bedroom door, Nursey stopped.

“You can come in,” Will said when he looked back.

“Didn’t want to assume,” Nursey said. And, well, that was different. “I know you need your space.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Nursey?” Will chirped.

Nursey shrugged, his cheeks turning a dusky pink. “I realize I may have been less than respectful of your boundaries. When we were upstairs. And I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” Will blinked. “Um, thank you.”

“I’m trying to be better.”

“I appreciate it.”

They stared at each other for a moment.

“This is weird now,” Will laughed. “But I made you some shelves. For your room.”

“Oh, sweet!” Nursey finally stepped into the room fully and admired the bookshelf in the center of the room with a bow stuck on top. “This is gorgeous, thanks Dexy.”

And then Will was being wrapped up in his second hug of the day. He lifted his arms and patted Nursey awkwardly on the back.

“They mount on the wall. Which I will do. No need to injure yourself trying to hang it.”

“You’re the best, Dex.”

Finally, Nursey pulled back and gave Will a giant smile.

“Come on, I want you to open mine now.”

Nursey grabbed Will’s wrist and dragged him up the stairs to the tree in the front room. He dropped his wrist only to pick up the gift and hand it to him.

Will sat down on the armchair and began to peel back the paper.

Inside the box was a beautiful navy blue robe with his initials monogrammed onto the chest.

He ran the material through his fingers and felt the soft fabric slide over his hand.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, awed.

“I know it gets cold down there, I heard you telling Chowder, so I thought you could use something warm. And since it’s my fault you had to move into the basement in the first place…”

“Hey, stop.”

Nursey looked up at him.

“I’m not saying I’m a fan of how it happened, but I’m glad I have my space and you have yours. And thank you, again, for apologizing. I really do appreciate it. And thank you for the robe.”

“There’s slippers, too,” Nursey mumbled, his cheeks pink again.

Will lifted the robe out of the box and, sure enough, there was a pair of fluffy slippers underneath.

“Thanks,” he smiled.

Nursey shrugged and smiled back.

Will put the box on the floor and moved to the couch beside Nursey, wrapping him in a hug.

He pulled back after a moment, but Nursey clung to his arms.

“Dex,” he started, staring into Will’s eyes.

“What?”

Nursey swallowed and Will watched as his eyes flicked down to his lips then back up to his eyes.

“Can I --?” Nursey asked.

“Yeah,” Will breathed.

Nursey kissed him.

It was everything Will hadn’t known he wanted. His lips were soft against his, his stubble rough on his cheek, and his hand fisted in his shirt. Will clung back with all he had and opened his mouth.

Nursey groaned.

After a few heated moments, they finally drew apart, only far enough to rest their foreheads together.

“So, will you come home with me for Christmas next week? I know it’s a bit soon to meet your boyfriend’s parents, but…”

“Boyfriend?” Will asked with a crack in his voice.

“Unless, oh god, you don’t want to actually date, shit, forget I said anything,” Nursey flailed backward, nearly falling off the couch.

“Derek, stop,” Will reached out and grabbed ahold of his arm. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Chill.”

Will rolled his eyes but pulled Derek in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so pleased i got to write more christmas fluff for swawesome santa! thanks for having me as a pinch hitter, y'all! hope you enjoyed this little fluffy piece. I'm on tumblr at willdexpoindexter where i have a lot of feelings about frogs.


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